Hong Kong Tops Global Infrastructure Ranking
Hong Kong has the best infrastructure in the world, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said last week.
WEF measured the quality of road and rail networks and the quality of the electricity supply in 144 countries.
The global infrastructure ranking saw Singapore in second, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in third, and the Netherlands in fourth with Switzerland in fifth place.
The table is from WEF’s annual Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) – part of its Global Competitiveness Report which was published last autumn.
The GCI ranked Switzerland as the most competitive country in the world, thanks to its “topnotch academic institutions, high spending on R&D,” WEF says in its report, adding that “strong cooperation between the academic and business worlds contribute to making Switzerland a top innovator.”
The central European country was followed by Singapore in second, the United States in third, Finland in fourth and Germany in fifth place, while the bottom spots are held by Guinea in 144th, Chad in 143rd, Yemen in 142nd, Mauritius in 141st and Angola in 140th place.
WEF defines competitiveness as “the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.”
To create its annual ranking, it looks at each country’s “12 pillars of competitiveness:” institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic environment; health and primary education; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labor market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication and innovation.
To measure these concepts, the GCI uses statistical data such as enrolment rates, government debt, budget deficit, and life expectancy – data are obtained from internationally recognised agencies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In another separate ranking of governments’ overall efficiency, Qatar came first, followed by Singapore, Finland, Hong Kong and the UAE.
About Winnie Agbonlahor
Winnie is news editor of Global Government Forum. She previously reported for Civil Service World - the trade magazine for senior UK government officials. Originally from Germany, Winnie first came to the UK in 2006 to study a BA in Journalism & Russian at the University of Sheffield. She is bilingual in English and German, and, after spending an academic year abroad in Russia and reporting for the Moscow Times, Winnie also speaks Russian fluently.
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